Macedonia: Albanian rebel leader announces rebel force disbanded

Macedonia: Albanian rebel leader announces rebel force disbanded
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Sep 28, 2001

The political leader of the Albanian rebels in Macedonia, Ali Ahmeti, has announced that the rebel force has been disbanded. Ahmeti also denied media allegations that there are mojahedin fighters in the National Liberation Army. The following is the text of report by Eshref Ahmeti headlined: "Press Conference by UCK political leader Ali Ahmeti in Shipkovice Near Tetovo: UCK Ceases To Exist!" in Macedonian Albanian-language newspaper Fakti e-mail service on 28 September

Ali Ahmeti, Gezim Ostreni, Nazmi Beqiri and Azbi Lika said yesterday in Shipkovice [Sipkovica] that the National Liberation Army [NLA - UCK in Albanian] has been disbanded.

"As of last night at 2400 [2200 gmt], the UCK does not exist any more. It has been disbanded and soldiers have returned to their homes. The actions that we have taken so far have contributed to the restoration of peace in Macedonia and, now, I believe that we will be making confident steps towards Europe," former UCK political leaders Ali Ahmeti said.

"All UCK members have returned to normal life as citizens of Macedonia. This took place after we completed the voluntary hand-over of weapons, thus fulfilling our obligations towards NATO and other relevant factors," Ali Ahmeti said at yesterday's press conference in Shipkovice. He was accompanied by his close associates, and all of them were wearing civilian clothes, demonstrating in this way, too, that the UCK had really been disbanded.

"There were no mojahidin fighters in our ranks and we have not had any links with Usamah Bin-Ladin's organizations. Our war was not ideological. It was a war for the better status of Albanians in Macedonia. Our war had nothing in common with his war," Ahmeti said as he refuted all accusations by the Macedonian media about his alleged links with Usamah Bin-Ladin's organizations.

"I have led the UCK politically. My staff and I will decide what we will be doing in the future, and I can tell you that we will not stand by indifferently and watch developments in the region. We will strive for peace and for a better future. We have respected all agreements that we signed with the internationals. We have kept our part of the bargain, and we expect the Macedonian Assembly to do the same. It must stop all its obstructions of the implementation of the framework agreement. We also urge political leaders to work hard in support of the agreement, because raising new issues and demanding changes to the agreement might jeopardize the entire process," Ali Ahmeti said in response to a question by a Fakti journalist regarding the security vacuum that could occur after the disbanding of the UCK.

"We believe that this security vacuum will be filled by NATO soldiers who are expected to join the follow-up mission Amber Fox. This mission will entail about 1,000 soldiers who will be taking care of the security of the OSCE and EU [European Union] monitors," Ahmeti added.

"If a security vacuum occurs and if the UCK members are arrested, then Boris Trajkovski will be held responsible. He has given assurances that this will not happen, and it is he who has demanded a new NATO mission in Macedonia to fill the security vacuum," the former UCK leader said.

"I do not expect any problem with the amnesty law. I believe that the law on amnesty will be endorsed and it will contribute to the restoration of confidence," Ahmeti said and added, "great processes need great courage".

Ahmeti also said that the Macedonian forces may enter Shipkovice and other territories that have been under the UCK control only after they have fulfilled their obligations to include Albanians into the police force.

Asked by Macedonian journalists about the fate of the 14 missing Macedonian civilians and the safety of those wanting to return to their homes, Ahmeti replied that the moment the UCK ceased to exist, it released all its prisoners. According to him it was very interested to ascertain the fate of all the missing - Albanians and Macedonians. He added that it cooperated with the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC]. The displaced population - Albanian and Macedonian - can return any time they want; the UCK has never prevented them from returning.

"We will cooperate with the Hague tribunal and with the state institutions that prove to be impartial in their inquiries into all cases that might constitute war crimes. We should start with the incident in Luboten [Ljuboten], the case of the Zymberi family of Sllupcan [Slupcane], the case of Poroj, and all other difficult and light cases that might constitute a war crime. We will demand that these cases be investigated fairly with the participation of both sides," Ahmeti said. He then added, "The UCK had nothing to do with the killing of 10 Macedonian soldiers on the Tetove [Tetovo]-Shkup [Skopje] road."

Asked whether the UCK would consider taking up arms again if such a thing were imposed on them, Ahmeti replied: "We should not think only about negative things. We must go on with the peace process, and if everything goes according to plan, that is, if the problems are solved by peaceful means, I believe that there will be no need for the UCK to reactivate."

Responding to a question about Macedonian media accusations against him, he said that this was merely political acrobatics, and such speculation will continue in the future.

"I am not contemplating any political engagement in the near future. I have led the UCK politically. My staff and I will decide about our future later. I will not be joining any political party at the moment, and rumours that I plan to join the PDSh [Democratic Party of Albanians] are only speculation," Ahmeti said, adding, however, that his cooperation with this party is very concrete.

abcnews

Scattered gunfire in tense part of Macedonia where rebels took control during insurgency

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) Scattered gunfire rattled early Sunday through a volatile part of Macedonia the government has said it intends to eventually retake from ethnic Albanian rebels who seized control during a six-month insurgency, police and witnesses said.

A total of about 50 rounds were fired into the air in what a police official said appeared to be a rebel warning to government authorities to back off from rebel strongholds in suburbs and villages near Tetovo, Macedonia's second largest city. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

The gunfire came at a delicate time for the Balkan country, where majority Macedonians and minority ethnic Albanians are gradually implementing a Western-brokered peace plan signed last month.

Last week, NATO troops collected more than 3,300 weapons handed in by rebels as part of the peace deal, mostly in the area where the shots were fired Sunday. The top rebel leader later announced that his guerrillas, known as the National Liberation Army, had disbanded...

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